


Through the Heart

by TheSpaceCoyote



Category: Borderlands, Tales from the Borderlands - Fandom
Genre: M/M, Near character death, basically Jack helps Rhys save Vaughn and Rhys in return helps Jack get his body back, smut in chapter 2!, three way
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-22
Updated: 2016-11-22
Packaged: 2018-09-01 13:18:08
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,478
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8625982
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSpaceCoyote/pseuds/TheSpaceCoyote
Summary: “And how many times have I told you that you need to be a little bit better about trusting me and letting me into your systems, huh? Someone still hasn’t learned his lesson.” Jack shook his head, floating through Rhys to stand next to Vaughn’s bed, so close that his digital form starting to clip a little through the railing. He took a long, hard look at the young man in the bed, sighing over-dramatically.“I tried to help you, kid, but you just had to go it alone, huh. And now your buddy is all…wait, hold on, lemme show ya.”Jack disappeared for a quick moment, before his head reappearing in the space in the bed next to Vaughn, making a couple of grotesque faces intending to mock the man. Jack bugged out his eyes and stuck his tongue out, convulsing before pretending to “die,” much to Rhys’ displeasure.----Alternate ending to parts of episode 4 & 5. Jack helps Rhys save Vaughn, and in return, Rhys helps him to get a new body once he's installed back on Helios. Smut in chapter 2!





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is a commission for handsome-jackhammer on Tumblr. c: For a prompt where Vaughn is stabbed by Vallory more critically than let on in the game, and Rhys has to care for him with Jack's help. Smut in the second chapter once Jack gets his body!!

Breath was ragged in Rhys throat, struggling against his pounding heart and throbbing head. His teeth were gritted tightly, anger and worry coursing through him at the current predicament of him and his friends. They had been so close, so close to getting out of here, out of the clutches of Vallory and her men and back on their way on the road to the vault, but here he was, pinned down against the snowy ground outside of the Atlas bio-dome, watching with terror as the scene unfolded before his eyes.

Fiona had tried to defy the woman, but in retaliation she had grabbed Vaughn by a thin wrist and yanked the young accountant over, taking advantage of his disorientation by stabbing a thick, warped looking knife through the man’s ribs.

Rhys’ eyes had widened in horror as he shouted his bro’s name, struggling against the man holding him. Fiona and Vallory were shouting at each other, and before Rhys knew it Vallory was twisting the knife into Vaughn’s body, and the man’s groan turned into a scream of pain as Vallory shoved him to the ground, the chunky handle of the knife still embedded into his body. Vaughn’s screams and moans of pain were so loud that they echoed over the snowy, craggy hills surrounding the bio-dome, reverberating back into Rhys’ ears and making the young man’s blood tremble as he struggled and managed to wrench away from the men restraining him.

In hindsight, Rhys realized that it was a stupid move to race forward, that Vallory’s goons would have probably just shot him in the head for moving a muscle. But he managed to get to Vaughn’s side without his brains and blood being splattered all over the snow, sinking before Vaughn’s cringing and moaning face with his hands dangling uselessly above him, not sure where or how he should touch his best bro. He wondered if he should try to yank out the knife or leave it in him, Vaughn’s reddening and contorting face making Rhys panic because shit, _shit_ , this did not look good.

“V-Vaughn! Come on, bro, hold on! Don’t do this!” Rhys begged, resisting the panicked urge to shake his best friend by the shoulders in his own terror. He tried activating his ECHOeye to see if it had any information on how to help his friend, but suddenly the light emanating from it flashed bright yellow as a spike of cool energy crackled through Rhys’ brain. The young man let out a sharp cry as his arm jerked, a clear sign that Jack was starting to try to take over him again, but _why,_ why now, when he was already panicked and freaking out and trying to save his maybe-dying best friend.

“Come _on_ , cupcake! You don’t know what the hell you’re doing!” Came the agitated, distorted snarl of Jack’s voice in the back of his brain, and Rhys cringed at the sound. Why the hell was Jack trying to take control of his arm? Was he trying to finish Vaughn off himself or something? Or make some kind of weird final stand against Vallory and her men?

“Wait, what are you doing? J— _you,_ fucking— _stop it_!” Rhys snarled, grasping his wrist and trying to retake control of his arm, or at least stop Jack from hurting Vaughn even more. He gritted his teeth, trying to focus against Jack yelling at him, his eye glitching out between the normal bright blue and aberrant golden display.

“What the hell is wrong with you, kid?” Vallory rasped, thunking over to him with a scowl as Rhys wrestled with his arm. “You want to loose that pretty piece of tech of yours? Or would you rather join your friend on the fuckin’ floor?” A well-aimed kick sent Rhys back flat on his ass, his arm spasming a couple more times before falling flat against the snowy ground. Rhys’ head buzzed for a few moments, the sound of voices both inside and out swarming around him before his eyes rolled back into his head and he passed out.

* * *

Rhys thought that Vallory and her goons could do a little better when it came to infirmaries, but he knew that if he tried to speak up to the battle-ax of a woman, he might get his head caved in. And if there was something he really didn’t need more of, it was brain trauma. It wouldn’t do him any good, anyway, to just be laid up in bed next to…well.

Rhys’ eyes fell to the figure lying prone on the bed before him, beige sheets drawn up to his waist, shirt stripped off and already torn off and used to bandage up the small man’s own chest. Rhys stuck out his lower lip as his eyes roved over his best friend’s still form. He also wasn’t happy about the man’s sweaty, dust-strewn clothing being used to bandage the still very fresh, very deep wound. August had told him that it didn’t matter much what Vaughn was wrapped up in, considering the healing balm they had slathered all over him, but still. Who knows what kind of fucked up Pandoran virus could have gotten inside of his bro, contributing to the fact that it had been a day or so and Vaughn _still_ hadn’t woken up.

Maybe Vaughn was never going to wake up, came an errant thought into Rhys’ brain. He shook his head, mashing his palms against his face as he sighed. _No_. He didn’t want to think about that, to even entertain the idea. Vaughn had stuck by his side for so long, through late night college cram sessions, through applying and finally getting accepted to work at Hyperion, through scaling up the corporate ladder, through embezzling all that money and getting stranded on Pandora…there was no way that Rhys was going to give up on him now. No way. Not August or Vallory or anyone else could stop him.

Not even—

“ _Heeeeeeey_ there, sweetheart.” Came the warbling, digitized voice right in his ear, causing Rhys to jump and yank his hands away from his face as the brilliant blue hologram came into blue. Jack’s face was only inches away from him, unnervingly doe-like eyes and mismatching arched eyebrows dominating the young man’s field of vision.

“Jack, how many times have I told you don’t…. _don’t_ sneak up on me.” Rhys hopped away from the hologram, trying to put a little bit of space between the two of them, but Jack merely floated up closer.

“ _And_ how many times have I told _you_ that you need to be a little bit better about trusting me and letting me into your systems, huh? Someone still hasn’t learned his lesson.” Jack shook his head, floating through Rhys to stand next to Vaughn’s bed, so close that his digital form starting to clip a little through the railing. He took a long, hard look at the young man in the bed, sighing over-dramatically.

“I _tried_ to help you, kid, but you just had to go it alone, huh. And now your buddy is all…wait, hold on, lemme show ya.”

Jack disappeared for a quick moment, before his head reappearing in the space in the bed next to Vaughn, making a couple of grotesque faces intending to mock the man. Jack bugged out his eyes and stuck his tongue out, convulsing before pretending to “die,” much to Rhys’ displeasure.

“And then he was all like, _ahhhh_ _oh no, I’ve been stabbed by some hundred year old broad, oh, come save me Rhysie, my prince_ —“

“Jack, will you stop it?” Rhys growled, clenching his fists. “This _isn’t_ funny.” He looked away with a frown, only for Jack to appear in front of him, grinning like a wolf.

“C’mon. S’a little fun. Lets see that smile, cupcake, come on.” Rhys frown only deepened in protest, crossing his arms and staring down the hologram.

“C’ _mooooooooon_.” Jack reached out with two fingers, prodding at the sides of Rhys’ mouth. The man’s frown twitched, pulling away from the hologram’s tingly touch.

“Quit it!”

“What you getting all pissy at me for, pumpkin? This entire mess is your fault, after all.”

Rhys raised an incredulous eyebrow at Jack, mouth falling open.

“ _My_ fault? What do you mean it’s my fault?” He pointed a finger at his chest. “I…I’m not the one who stabbed him!”

“If you’d only _let me_ take control of your arm, then maybe I could have saved him. But I guess you really shat the bed on that one.”

“I…what do you mean?” Rhys’ eyes trailed back to Vaughn’s still body. Was…was something else wrong with him?

“I mean, that old broad didn’t just _stab_ him, pumpkin. I saw it all while I was shacked up in your head, he looked _bad_ and _familiar_. No way someone looks like he did after just getting stabbed in the side.”

“Um. I mean, I think getting stabbed would make anyone look pretty bad.” Jack placed his hands on his hips, lips curling as he shot Rhys a disbelieving look.

“Oh, okay, so we’re just going to trust the middle management wiener with the sparkly baton over like, I don’t know, Handsome Jack, bona-fide bandit killing hero when it comes to what’s-what in the world of murder? Get outta here, cupcake.”

“All right, then how about you actually tell me what’s going on?” Rhys crossed his arms. Jack tsked at Rhys’ insistence.

“Okay, okay. So, that big old broad who stabbed him had her blade all slicked up with a fancy Pandoran toxin. Bet she was keeping that ace up her sleeve just in case your lady friend mouthed off a little too much. I’ve seen it before—psychos use it, bandits use it, hell anyone with half a brain living down on this crapscape of a planet knows it and knows how to use it. Sure, there’s plenty of poisons on here that’ll kill you faster than you can blink, but this one here will draw it out, shut down the body slowly under the guise of ‘recovery.’ “ Jack related grimly.  

“So…she poisoned him?” Rhys’ eyes widened, turning around slowly as he looked over to Vaughn. Suddenly the man’s pale skin and unnatural stillness over the past few days made sense.

“Yep. Those guys you’ve shacked up with are bad news, cupcake. They know what they’re doing. They’re gonna keep that little buttbuddy squirt of yours laid up as ransom kind of deal.” One side of his body phased through Rhys’ as the hologram flitted over to the side of Vaughn’s bed. Jack waved his hand through the young man’s face, flicking idly at his nose and lips even though he couldn’t touch him.

“Suppose they must be planning to work quick, huh. Have you think Vaughn’s still alive and recovering until you’re up doing their dirty work. He’ll die just as soon as we set foot on Helios.”

“W-What?” Rhys felt his body go cold, gaping at the hologram and his pale, stone-still best friend.

“Oh, yeah. I mean, I’ve seen that poison be used hundreds of times, kiddo. Even used it myself a couple of times, pretty funny when you promise someone their loved ones only to have ‘em convulse and die in their arms… _anyway,_ yeah, if you leave ‘em alone like this they’ll just kind of waste away until there’s nothing left.”

“Y…You’re not serious.”

“As a chest wound, babe. But lucky you, Rhysie, you’ve got _me_ up in your noggin, and I happen to know how  to make an antidote that’ll help your little friend see the light of day again.”

“You…you know how to save him? You’ll help me?” Rhys dared to sound a little bit hopeful as he addressed the hologram. Jack grinned at him, rubbing his hands together.

“You bet, cupcake. But you’re gonna have to start trusting me a _liiiitle_ bit more now, princess. I mean, we were off to a pretty good start, what with you lettin’ me take over the Atlas drones and all. We’ve even saved the little guy together before, remember? When we blew off Wallethead’s arm? Oh _man_ , that was a trip!” Jack grinned wolfishly, spreading his arms out. “Don’t forget, Rhysie, you and me can do some _awesome_ things together.”

“I….I won’t…” Rhys swallowed. “I’m trusting you to help me save him again, okay?”

“Got it got it, babe, don’t you worry about a thing. We’ll find a way to save good ol’ muscles over there. He’ll be back to normal, stuttering and staring at your ass when he thinks you’re not looking in no time.” Jack hovered his hand over Rhys’ shoulder, only clipping through his shoulder a little bit, having gotten used to interact with the flesh and blood Rhys as a hologram. It was a little thing, but it made Rhys’ heart flutter just a little bit.

* * *

Under Jack’s guidance, Rhys sought out the various components to the cure for the toxin coursing through Vaughn’s veins. Whenever he was sent out to gather things or arrange plans for their infiltration of Helios, Rhys managed to sneak away, Jack’s input into his eye helpfully tracking down what they needed while the AI simultaneously caused some mechanical distractions and hacks to draw the attention of their captors. Because of Rhys was knocked out of commission or purposefully kept away from Vaughn, there was no way that the young man was going to survive this. It was nail-bitingly close a few times, and Rhys almost got his hand bitten off by carnivorous plant whose pollen he had to steal, but within a couple of days Rhys had managed to collect everything while simultaneously working on Vallory’s planned excursion to Helios.

The cure that Jack had told him about worked in three stages, as the hologram’s projections into the ECHOeye had informed him as Rhys had gathered and combined the proper ingredients together.

The recovery wouldn’t be easy, Rhys could glean that much from Jack’s off-topic and oftentimes unnecessarily self-aggrandizing entries. It was almost like the cure needed to break down Vaughn’s body and then build it back up, healthy and good as new.

First, Vaughn would start to sweat as his body heat increased, feverish response gradually taking over. There wasn’t much to do to manage this stage other than wipe his brow and try to keep his body’s core temperature down.

Secondly, Vaughn would start to shiver and convulse slightly, eyelids fluttering and lips trembling as if suffering a minor seizure. He would drool and twitch—disconcerting and upsetting symptoms, to be sure, but still manageable. Rhys would have to be careful and make sure that his friend didn’t bite off his own tongue or anything like that.

The third phase was the worse of all. Vaughn would be plagued by a series of hallucinogenic, hideous nightmares as the cure beat back the toxin from his body, and Rhys would have to be the one to calm him down, as he was the only one with a physical body. And he would have to keep the man quiet, as to not alert Vallory or August or any of her other goons to what their plan was.

Rhys crushed up the cure in a small bowl placed next to Vaughn’s nightstand, grinding the gathered pieces of Pandoran flora and minerals with his fingers until it had dissolved into a bit of a soft paste. Rhys wrinkled up his nose as he caught a whiff of it. It smelled like decomposing, pungent vegetation, Rhys holding the bowl far away from his nose as he shot an apologetic look at Vaughn.

“What are you waiting for, are you gonna stuff it in a ball of cheese so he can’t taste it? Get on with it, cupcake.” Jack nagged by his side, Rhys shooting him a glare before he scooted over to Vaughn’s side, scraping up most of the pungent poultice in the bowl and pressing it into Vaughn’s mouth. He blushed a little bit at the feeling of Vaughn’s lips against his fingers, even if it were the ones on his cybernetic arm. He pushed the ball of medicine to the back of Vaughn’s mouth, carefully working Vaughn’s throat—thankfully, the man seemed to swallow it dutifully with minimal choking. Rhys watched with bated breath as the lump of medicine disappeared through Vaughn’s throat and down into his body.

Now…all he had to do was wait.

The sweating didn’t take long to start up. Rhys watched with increasing disquiet as it started to bead on Vaughn’s forehead and cheeks, droplets swelling in size before breaking and streaking down his friend’s increasingly reddening face. Rhys laced his fingers together, bobbing his heels boots up and down against the dusty wooden floor, worrying his lips as he fixed his eyes upon Vaughn’s form. Rhys swallowed roughly as the sweat starting to pool against the creases in Vaughn’s eyelids and forehead as his eyebrows unconsciously knit upwards in discomfort, finally pressing the dry rag against his friend’s skin. The heat starting to emanate from the man sent a wave of panic through Rhys heart as he switched the rag from his flesh hand to his cybernetic one so he wouldn’t have to feel it.

As much as he didn’t want to leave Vaughn’s side—especially as the sweating began to abate, only to signal the second stage—he did end up having to be summoned by Vallory to assist in some of her plans to get them back up to Helios. He did his best to not let on that he was doing anything untoward behind the woman’s back, giving her cursory, curt responses when she asked how Vaughn was. He caught the slight smirk on her lips when he said he was doing fine, a curl of anger rising up in the boy’s body that he tried doggedly to suppress. He had managed to convince Jack to stay and watch over his bro while Rhys was away, which the hologram had done with a lot of grumbling and grousing but he had _done_ it at least, and that’s all that Rhys cared about.

Rhys had been standing about in the main room of Vallory’s hideout, trying to listen to the plans they were hatching even as his mind raced back to Vaughn and the cure working through his body. He kept his palms planted on his knees, feeling the sweat and nervous heat soaking into the fabric of his jeans, trying to use to tactile sensation to keep himself calm. He tried to prevent his mind from returning to thoughts of his friend, worries over whether Jack had actually given him a cure or just a cocktail of even _more_ poisonous ingredients to fuck with him and kill his friend just for kicks.

But Jack _had_ helped him so far, albeit in pretty unorthodox and somewhat dangerous ways, but still. As much as Jack got his rocks off on murder and fucking around with people, lying to Rhys and murdering Vaughn just didn’t seem to benefit him enough in the long run for Jack to actually go through with the whole process of actually doing it.

So Rhys sat there, fidgeting with the cybernetic fingers on his hand, trying to focus and listen to Vallory and August as they relayed the plans to their captives, when suddenly a piercing digital voice cracked in his head.

“ _Oooh_ he’s getting bad now, pumpkin You might wanna think of an excuse to bounce this little party and head on back.” Came the spark of Jack’s voice, the hologram flickering briefly in front of Rhys, shaking his head and blocking his view of the rest of the meeting. Rhys started in his seat at the sudden appearance, snapping him out of his fugue and getting him a couple of weird glances from Fiona.

His brain is starting to race, and despite the urgency rushing through his body he just can’t _think_ of an excuse, and if he suddenly gets up without explanation and starts stumbling off towards Vaughn’s room then he might as well be revealing his plan, so he manages to keep still, now not listening at all to Vallory’s speech until she thumps the butt of her gun against the wooden floor, indicating that she’s done with them for now. He waves off Fiona’s questioning glance, trying to keep his pace even and his back straight as he heads off back to Vaughn’s room, his posture finally crumbling in concern when he shuts the door behind him.

Jack is floating in the air, reclining back as if he were laying in an invisible hammock, rolling over onto his stomach and looking like a teenaged girl sitting on her bed as he drifts down next to Rhys as the young man approaches Vaughn’s bed.

“ _Finally_ , kitten, I was starting to think you were ignoring me. Or that you just didn’t give a shit about muscles anymore.” Jack’s words were flippant, but his tone was unlike any that Rhys had heard from him before—he sounded serious, almost…. _concerned_. Rhys shook his head—he didn’t have the time to analyze Jack’s feelings right now, because Vaughn was clearly shivering underneath the sheets. His eyelids were twitching, mouth moving unconsciously around soft sounds of discomfort. Rhys quickly sat at his friend’s side, grabbing for the rag from earlier to dab at the drool slowly starting to dribble from Vaughn’s twitching lips.

“How long has he been like this?” Rhys turned his head towards Jack. The hologram’s face flickered in thought.

“Hmmm….I dunno, maybe like an hour or so? You’ve still got a little bit of time before the third stage starts up, unless they hit him with even more toxin than I thought.” Jack crossed his arms, “resting” his the side of his head on his forearms, eyes flicking over Vaughn’s form with a weird look in his eyes. Rhys cocked his head.

“Jack…are you actually…worried about him?” Rhys ventured. The hologram’s gaze snapped back to Rhys, Jack letting out a dismissive snort before turning back to Vaughn.

“As _if_ , sweetheart. The only thing I’m worried about is you going frikkin’ AWOL if your little buddy bites the big one. Considering how much of a bitch you are to the whole ‘friendship’ thing, you’ll probably turn into a gibbering idiot . And I’d rather be up in my big, awesome chair up in Helios rather than holed up in your brain as you wander around the desert drinkin’ your own piss.”

Rhys continued to stare at him, a small smile playing on his lips. Jack scowled, shooting him a look.

“ _What_?”

“Nothing, nothing.” Rhys chuckled a little, shaking his head. The idea of Jack being invested in the wellbeing of anyone else, much less one of his middle management peons but….still. It gave Rhys just a little bit of comfort, knowing that some part deep inside of the AI, _maybe_ slightly cared about saving Vaughn. Or maybe Rhys was just latching onto hints of things that weren’t really there.

Even if Jack really didn’t give a shit, it was nice to have at least another presence inside of the room to break up the anxiety as they waited for Vaughn to progress into the third and final stage of reaction to the treatment. Jack floated in the air next to where Rhys sat against the bed, “resting” and idly watching the man’s form as he twitched and seized, Rhys making soft hushing noises to Vaughn as he tried to calm him down and keep him still. After about another hour, it seemed like Vaughn’s body had started to calm down, and he returned to the still, almost death-like state he had been in before Rhys had given him the cure. Rhys was just wondering if it had even worked, or if the man had gotten lucky and bypassed the third stage, when suddenly Vaughn’s body seized up violently, his back arching off the bed as he let out a painful cry.

Rhys jolted forward, his arms finding his best friend arms and tried to hold them down as Vaughn tried to claw at himself, letting out terrified, gruff noises as he thrashed. Rhys put all of his weight down on his friend, trying to keep him still and quiet as he did his level best to struggle away from the man’s grasp.

Vaughn’s eyes were open but unseeing, glassy and whirling around the room, not recognizing Rhys at all. His pupils were tight, almost invisible in his irises as he ground his teeth together, terrified whines increasing in pitch until Rhys managed to shove the twisted rag into his mouth, stifling the noise out of fear of alerting Vallory or August to what was happening.

Vaughn’s struggling got more desperate and violent, his hips vaulting and his legs starting to kick against the sheets as Rhys tried to get on top of him, sitting on his stomach as Vaughn bucked and writhed around, his screeches muffled into the rag as he clawed and tried to get away from invisible foes. Rhys tried his best to hold him down, but Vaughn had a lot of muscle packed into his short body, and it was being used without restraint right now. Rhys felt his own body being tossed about as Vaughn thrashed and seized. Rhys’ eyes swung about desperately as he felt himself starting to lose his grip on his friend’s body, in serious danger of being bucked off and sent crashing to the floor. In his panic, his eyes fell upon Jack, who had righted himself and was watching the scene with raised brow and that same look of concern.

“I—I—Jack, please, _Jack_ , I can’t do this alone!” Rhys begged as his friend growled and snarled and thrashed against him, Rhys quickly losing his grip even with the strength of his right arm. Suddenly, Jack’s hologram vanished and reappeared overlapped over the young man’s seated form. Rhys felt something cool and familiar wash over him, trickling down from the back of his head and his forehead, pooling into his spine before shooting to his shoulder and galvanizing his cybernetic arm in the blink of an eye.

His body jerked forward with the sudden movement of his arm, the metal palm shoving firmly at Vaughn’s shoulder as it held the man down against the bed with force even as he thrashed and groaned about. He can hear soft sounds of concentration coming from Jack as the man helps him in holding his friends down, their combined strength enough to keep Vaughn still as the man works through the throes of the final stage.

Rhys felt tears of fear starting to prick up in eyes but he blinked them away, holds Vaughn down with Jack’s help until the man stops, thrashing, stops squirming and breathing heavily and starts….starts…

_Snoring_.

Rhys blinked in surprise for a moment at the low, snuffly sounds suddenly coming from his bro, before a marveled, slightly-manic chuckle tears itself from the man’s throat. The fingers on Rhys’ flesh hand trembled slightly as he pulled away from his bro’s body, his shoulders falling in relief as tears pricked to his eyes, spilling down his face as he runs a palm over his mouth, looking down at Vaughn with relieved, wet eyes. The color slowly returned to Vaughn’s face, no longer that deathly pale that had haunted him ever since he had been stabbed by Vallory, the tiny muscles in his jaw and cheek now relaxed as he slept peacefully, as if nothing had even happened.

Rhys couldn’t resist reaching out to touch Vaughn’s face with his flesh hand, brushing the tips of his long fingers against the man’s cheeks, feeling the grateful warmth in his skin as it slowly returned, as the toxin was chased from his body. All the anxiety and tension and worry that had been coiling in Rhys chest for the past few days was slowly unwinding, fanning out into the rest of the man’s body until it dissipated, and all that was left was relief and naked affection.

“Now, that’s more like it, sweetheart.” Jack chuckled from besides him, running his digital finger up Rhys’ cheek, the cool firing of his nerves making his skin tingle in the phantom touch. “What’d I tell you? You trust ol’ Jack, and you can save _all_ your little friends.”

Rhys tore his eyes away from Vaughn for a moment to stare at Jack, searching the hologram’s translucent face. There was a “thank you” that lingered on his lips, but he wasn’t sure whether he should say it, so he just leaned his head forward, resting his forehead against Jack’s. That familiar cool feeling washed over him, trickling down his spine and making Rhys’ shiver. He saw Jack’s eyes widen, and though he expected the hologram to say something, Jack remained silent until Rhys pulled away, a slight blush coloring his cheeks.

Rhys couldn’t help himself, he wound up shakily laying himself down beside Vaughn, carefully adjusting the man into a more comfortable position. Rhys bit his lip and looked down at his friend before he gently laid his head against Vaughn’s shoulder, stretching his arm over his chest and holding him close. He could feel the even, breathy snores of his bro rising and falling, lifting Rhys’ hand as he played it protectively over the man’s chest.

Just as Rhys was starting to get comfortable, he felt something cool and tingling settle against his back and drape over his upper body. He gasped, turning his head a little to see the soft glow of Jack’s body as the hologram spooned up against him, floating just against the sheets of the bed.

Rhys’ lips worked dumbly, wondering if he should say anything, but Jack opened up one eye and shot Rhys a warning look.

“Don’t make this weird, cupcake.” Jack growled out, closing both of his eyes and resting his face at the nape of Rhys’ neck.  A soft smile spreading over Rhys’ face as he nodded, before returning to rest his hand over Vaughn’s chest, the gentle glow of the AI’s holographic arm coming to rest over Rhys’ waist.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaaaand some Jack/Vaughn/Rhys smut! Thank you for reading c:

Having a body again was even sweeter than Jack ever imagined it being.

After being stuck in that wiener kiddo’s head for what seemed like _forever_ , here he was, back in the flesh. He could touch. He could grab onto things. He could taste and _eat_ , holy crap, one of the first things that Jack did when he finally had a body back was go to town on a rack of ribs with all the trimmings.

But, most importantly, he could have _sex_.

Realistically, it probably hadn’t been _that_ long since he’d had sex, but whatever, he had cravings and there was only one way to settle them. Well—quite a few different ways, actually, with a whole mess of different positions and combinations of people and genitals and honestly, there was such an array of sexy things he could do with his new body that he honestly didn’t really know where to start. He’d jerked off in his chair quite a few times already as he cycled through various fantasies, trying to figure out which one he wanted to translate into reality first.

He was a little stuck on a decision until he remembered the adoring little fanboy and his tiny little butt-buddy who had brought him back to the height of his power. Jack knew that Rhys had a boner not only for him, but also for Vaughn, so why not kill two birds with one stone? Sate Jack’s sexual cravings while giving the obsessed little kid and his friend the time of their lives. Anything to get Rhys to stop simpering and _sighing_ like a lovesick teenager over the little nerd.  

Some would call bedding your recently promoted co-CEO and his man-crush a conflict of interest, but Jack couldn’t be a perfect genius leader _every_ second of his life. Men had needs and all that, y’know. What his shareholders didn’t know wouldn’t hurt them anyway.

So one day after work hours he’d contacted Rhys’ and told him to come up to his penthouse for a private meetings about exports or something or other, he really didn’t remember what he’d said aside from reminding Rhys to bring Vaughn along to help crunch the numbers. Rhys didn’t question it, even though Jack could hear the slight confusion in his voice. Whatever, didn’t matter, as soon as Jack got the two of them in the same intimate space then it would all be over. Once Jack had an idea in his head and people in his clutches, he didn’t plan on letting go of either.

Jack liked the way that Vaughn’s eyes widened and Rhys’ cheeks colored when he opened the door to his penthouse wearing nothing but bright yellow Hyperion-branded briefs that clung to every curve and bulge in his crotch. Vaughn looked just about ready to bolt, so Jack quickly shuffled the two of them into the penthouse, the doors clicking shut with a resounding metallic noise.

“Consider this your thank you package, kiddo. Heh.” Jack snickered to himself as he turned back around to face them, crossing his arms over his chest. “And I’m also doing you a _favor_ with muscles over there. You’ve been dragging your feet ever since you saved him from that poison, and honestly, it’s kind of pissing me off. So I’m gonna be the one taking initiative here, and you’re welcome Handsome Jack sir for your amazing foresight and decision.”

“I, what—“

“Okay, so I’ll put it in plain English, numbskull. I’m going to fuck you, and so is your little buddy over there. Or you’re gonna fuck him, I don’t know which way you swing, but there’s no way Jack’s gonna get a dick up his ass, so like, work around that.” He twirled his fingers in emphasis.

Rhys was speechless, his usually pale face on fire with blush, so it was up to Vaughn to respond. The small man quickly wedged himself between Rhys and Jack, and though he looked upset, there was an encouraging bit of red on his cheekbones that made Jack waggle his eyebrows.

“H-hey, Jack, what’s the meaning of this? You can’t just….you can’t just invite us up here for business and say….and look….like that!” He finished kind of lamely, and oh Jack could tell that Vaughn was wavering. Rhys was already there, but his little friend just needed a little _tip_ to fall fully over into “DTF” territory.

So Jack just gave Rhys a sly wink and reached out, pushing against Vaughn’s—surprisingly solid—chest, shoving him back into Rhys. The taller man let out a gasp, instinctively wrapping his arms around his friend, and by the look in Vaughn’s eyes he had definitely felt the hard-on that Rhys had started to sport in his pants. The slight flush on Vaughn’s cheeks quickly spread, his lips parted slightly as he turned his head to look up at Rhys. Rhys’ face was beet red, but neither of them backed away.

“ _Now_ he gets it.” Jack shook his head, walking forward until Vaughn was snugly pinned between him and Rhys, the smaller man’s rapid breaths ghosting over Jack’s bare chest. “I guess that’s your fault, cupcake, for making your first move when the guy was friggin’ unconscious.”

“W-When I was what?” Vaughn stammered, his voice clouded with embarrassment. Rhys shot Jack a pouty look as he rested his chin on the top of Vaughn’s head, letting out a small sigh.

“Vaughn, I….I didn’t want…I wanted to tell you sometime, just…” Rhys’ confession trembled on his lips as he buried them against Vaughn’s hair, brushing the barest kiss against his scalp.

“B-Bro….?” Rhys lifted his face as Vaughn turned around in his arms. Jack placed his hands on his hips, watching the cute little scene before him. God damn, though, they needed to get a move on it.

“Hurry up, kiddos, daddy doesn’t have all night.” Jack growled as he smacked Vaughn heavily on the ass, pushing him forward into Rhys’ lips. The two men let out muffled cries as their mouths met, Jack quickly pressing up behind Vaughn—which had the dual effect of making them keep their lips together _and_ allow Jack to rub his crotch on Vaughn’s solid ass.

Things _really_ got started from that point on. After a couple more blushing kisses and chaste hugs, Jack had grabbed the two men and yanked them in the direction of the bedroom with little protest. He’d hopped up on the bed, tucking his hands behind his head as he leaned against the headboard and watched the two men standing awkwardly at the foot of the bed.

“Well? Go on, babes, put on a nice show for me. Don’t be afraid to feel each other up a little bit too. Rhysie, I know you’ve been wanting to touch those sweet abs for a long time already. I mean, we used to share the same brain after all.” Jack teased with a wink.

“Jack, don’t!” Rhys rubbed his cybernetic wrist shyly, only for Vaughn to step into his personal space, hands going to Rhys’ tie and carefully undoing it as he leaned up and kissed him on the chin. Rhys’ attention was drawn away from the man on the bed to Vaughn, quickly meeting his lips. Rhys let out a quiet moan as his arms came up to wrap around Vaughn’s shoulders, one of his long legs even managing to curl around the shorter man’s hips. Jack watched with a giddy expression, finding it amusing that Rhys’ gangly body was wrapping around the short, solid little nugget that was Vaughn. So Rhys was a bit of the submissive type, okay with letting someone else take the lead? Well, Jack could enjoy that. And Vaughn appeared to be enjoying it as well, as evidenced by the way his arms went to wrap around Rhys’ hips and actually _lifting_ the taller man up and off his feet, swaying solidly in place even as Rhys yelped and instinctively wrapped both thighs around his friend’s waist.

“Holy shit, muscles, you can hold that string bean like its nothing!” Jack laughed from the head of the bed. Vaughn flushed at the comment, fumbling his grip on Rhys as he turned to look at his boss.  

“Y-yeah, well uh…” Vaughn trailed off as Rhys’ fingers started to run through the hair at the back of his neck. He visibly shuddered when Rhys kissed his forehead, peppering his lips all over his face and drawing Vaughn’s attention back. Jack watched with a smirk as the two continued making out, deepening their kisses and drawing soft moans out of one another.  

Jack slid his hand down his stomach, feeling up his own muscles and tickling over his happy trail before sliding his fingers below the waistband of his yellow briefs. He purred in arousal as he lifted his ass, sliding the material down over his hips until it clung to his thighs. His cock bobbed up heavy and hard in the air as he squeezed at the shaft, precum bubbling at the tip and dripping down the head.

He couldn’t see much from where he was, but what he did see went straight to his dick as he slowly stroked it. Vaughn was kissing Rhys’ harder, before pulling back with his lower lip caught between his teeth. God damn, the kid really was a tiger when he let loose, huh? Drawing all kinds of mewls and whines from Rhys as his mouth went to Rhys’ neck, sucking and biting against his throat as Rhys’ thighs clenched tighter around his waist.

Eventually, however, Jack wasn’t content with just watching and jerking himself off, so he shimmied free of his briefs, tossing them over to smack against the top of Vaughn’s head. He jolted up and away from Rhys’ neck, fixing Jack with a slightly annoyed look that he quickly corrected as soon as he remembered who else he was in bed with.

“Ah um…Jack sir, what…?” Vaughn replied dazedly, clearly distracted by how Rhys was still whining and writhing beneath him. Jack leveled him with a lusty stare, pushing himself up on his knees and leaning over to the nightstand to quickly toss a bottle over to Vaughn, who caught it with only a slight fumble. Jack snickered as he crawled back over to the two entwined men. He crouched right by Rhys’ head, thighs flanking his temples as his cock bobbed just above the young man’s face. His pre-cum dripped down against Rhys’ mouth, making him moan and lick his lips. He rubbed one hand against Rhys’ shoulder while he cupped Vaughn’s face with the other, tipping his chin up until his eyes met with Jack’s. He stroked his thumb over Vaughn’s cheek, before leaning in and pressing their lips together.

Vaughn was a bit of a stilted kisser, which surprised Jack considering he had been so forward with Rhys once they’d gotten going, but it was nothing that his quick tongue and teeth couldn’t fix. He left Vaughn’s lips red and bitten as he pulled away, patting the hand that held the tube of lube and pointing down to where Rhys’ legs were still locked around his hips.

“Hop to it, glasses, get him all nice and ready. You know how to do that, right, or do I need to show ya?” Jack waggled his eyebrows. Vaughn nodded eagerly, and part of Jack wondered if Vaughn had wanted to do this for as long as Rhys had, or maybe even longer, but he bit his tongue for now. He was eager to get to the main act, get these two fucking so he could get his own dick wet sooner rather than later.

Though—as Vaughn moved his hands down between Rhys’ legs, giving Jack more space, he figured he could get a jump on it considering how Rhys was lapping at the precum that had dripped onto his lips. A tiny moan left the young man as Vaughn slathered up his fingers and began to stroke against Rhys’ shaft, and crap that just made him even more irresistible.

So Jack grasped the base of his cock in hand, tipping Rhys’ chin back and pressing the head of his dick against his lips. The first shy little lick against the head of his cock was friggin’ transcendent, awakening long-missed sensations that rocked Jack’s body to the core. Oh wow. He had _really_ missed this. Thrumming with enthusiasm, Jack spread his legs and sank further down, his cock steadily pushing through Rhys’ lips. The position didn’t really allow for proper deep-throating, but to Jack’s fresh new body, even the tiniest sensation made his cock twitch and skin tingle. They could always work their way up to that, anyway. Considering how well things we’re going so far, Jack figured they could get a couple rounds done today before the two kiddos were tuckered out.

Rhys let out a loud whimper and tightened his lips around Jack’s cock, involuntarily flexing his tongue against the shaft as Vaughn straddled Rhys’ hips, fisting his slicked up cock while his other hand went behind himself to prod between his own cheeks. Jack watched with hooded eyes, witnessing the way Vaughn’s face flickered in concentration and pleasure  as he started opening himself up for Rhys.

“Damn, sweetheart, you really know what you’re doing, don’t ya?”

“I-I, no I….well….I’ve seen a lot of videos…”

“Heh, you’re a dirty thing, huh muscles? I wonder if Rhysie knew that at all. Did he ever accidentally catch you spanking your bacon around?” Jack teased as he dipped his cock in and out of Rhys’ wet and willing mouth. Vaughn spluttered, unsure how to respond as he stalled his fingers inside of himself.

“Hey, don’t stop kiddo, daddy gets to fuck him once you’re done and I’m not super patient.” Jack shook his head. “Don’t be so nervous, I can tell ya from firsthand experience that this kid friggin’ adores you. He’s got a whole file about your abs, cupcake.” Rhys’ eyes widened and he let out a protesting noise, but it was quickly stifled by Jack’s cock as he sank down further into Rhys’ mouth, the head of his cock brushing the back of his throat.

Vaughn pulled his fingers out, shakily bracing his hands against Rhys’ chest as he moved his ass over Rhys’ cock, working the head inside of his loosened hole. Jack growled in pleasure as he stilled his dick in Rhys’ mouth, taking a moment to just watch as Vaughn lowered himself onto Rhys’ length, the muscles in his stomach twitching as he took it all in. Rhys hollowed his cheeks around Jack’s cock in response, his tongue undulating against the man’s shaft as his own cock was sheathed in the warm body of his best friend.  

Vaughn was really starting to grow on Jack, and he couldn’t really blame the smell of sex in the air and the shared interest in Rhys. Jack had to admit, even when he had been holed up in Rhys’ brain, he had _kind_ of been able to understand the kid’s feelings for Vaughn. Though now he wasn’t sure if his and Rhys’ thoughts hadn’t just been interfacing with each other, but still, the guy had had some sweet abs and kind of an earnest, diamond in the rough style attraction buried under all that awkward bookishness that even Jack had been able to admire albeit just in a passing interest.

In any case, whether it was the brutal stint down in Pandora, or the fact that Jack had a flesh and blood body, he could now _fully_ appreciate why exactly Rhys had been attracted to his buddy in the first place. Those abs were pretty sweet and well sculpted, and the musculature extended down into surprisingly stout and powerful thighs covered in a light, curly dusting of hair near the crotch. He looked a little better, too, when his face was less consumed with nervousness and more confident and relaxed in arousal. The little bit of hair that was falling out of place against his forehead was a nice touch.

Jack had to admit that Vaughn had a pretty nice cock too. Nothing to write home about, sure, but it was decently thick at the base and sized well enough. It got Jack’s “OK” seal of approval. It bobbed nicely against his stomach as he started to ride Rhys in earnest, Vaughn’s ass rising and sinking up and down along the his slender length.

As warm and wet as Rhys’ mouth was, Jack was eager to sink himself inside of the kid’s ass proper. So he raised himself up fully on his knees, his cock pulling out of Rhys’ mouth and dragging precum and saliva across the young man’s cheek. Rhys coughed a little at the sudden absence, voice weak with arousal as he looked up at Jack with wet eyes. Jack snickered, giving Rhys’ a swift pat on the cheek.

“Oh, don’t you worry, cupcake, we’re gonna drive you wild.”

Jack crawled off the bed, shuffling with his cock at full mast over to the foot of the bed, where Rhys’ calves were hanging off the edge.

He grabbed at the discarded, half-used bottle of lube resting against the sheets, smearing its contents all over his hand before quickly scissoring his fingers into Rhys’ hole as Vaughn rocked his hips down against his cock. His dick was already slicked up with Rhys’ saliva, so as soon as he’d hurriedly prepared the young man, he could just slid right in, pushing inch by inch inside until his balls were flush up against Rhys ass and his chest pressed up against Vaughn’s back.

It was a little awkward to set up a proper rhythm—totally based on the fact that he was fucking someone who was getting his cock ridden, and _not_ because he was a little rusty on the whole sex thing, thank you very much—but Jack more or less solved it by pressing Vaughn forward until he braced his hands on either side of Rhys’ head. This way, Jack could lift Rhys’ hips higher off of the bed and fuck into the young man at a better angle while Vaughn rutted mindlessly up and down on Rhys’ cock.

“Yeah, oh yeah, oh damn, I’ve really missed this….friggin’ bless you kiddos, _ah_ —“ Jack rambled as he thrust his hips forward and back into Rhys’ feeling his balls already start to tighten. He pushed aside his ego for a moment—he could work on his endurance later, there’d been a _lot_ of build up already and hey, he was fresh out of the starter gate, it would make sense that he might have to work his way back up to his former glory—and focused primarily on chasing his arousal. Arms wound around Vaughn’s waist as Jack absently tongued and sucked against the quivering muscles in the man’s back, his hand grasping at Vaughn’s cock and tried stroking him off in time with his own hips. Like hell he was going to be coming _first_.

Luckily, he didn’t even have to worry about it, as Rhys was the first to shudder and let out a strangled shout, his hips gradually slowing to a halt even as Vaughn pushed down on his softening cock and Rhys’ ass rocked with the force of Jack’s thrusts. Jack squeezed Vaughn’s cock as Rhys clenched down around him, feeling the splash of his cum against his palm only moments before his own arousal knocked him over like a bowling ball.

“Ooooh, boys, daddy’s really friggin’ pleased with that…” Jack growled happily, nuzzling against Vaughn’s spine before giving Rhys’ quivering thigh a small pat. He yanked himself out from inside of Rhys, liking how prettily his cum trailed over the charcoal sheets of his bed. Mmm, that was a sight he’d missed. Same with curled up, thoroughly fucked out bodies snuggling into each other in his bed. Rhys cuddled into Vaughn like he was a teddy bear, again somehow wrapping his entire lanky form around the other man’s stouter body as he pulled Vaughn’s face into his neck. A soft, alluring twinkle in Rhys’ eyes invited Jack to quickly spoon up besides him, the CEO settling in with his arm resting over the forms of his two bedmates.

And even though Jack wouldn’t admit it out loud, he almost enjoyed the cuddling in his new body better than the sex.


End file.
